Golden Sunrise
by StriderX
Summary: A despairing Jak and comforting Ashelin watch the sunrise after a long, hard battle with the Metal Heads. Mild JakAshelin


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A/N:** This is just a short little somethin' I thought up yesterday afternoon after reading another Jak story. I would really like to know what you all think about it cuz I'm really not sure if it's any good or not. So PLEASE REVIEW:) No flames though...only constuctive critisizm, please.

**Disclaimer:** Haaa...though it pains me to admit, I do not own Jak, Ashelin, the Metal Heads, or anything in the Jak and Daxter games. Too bad;( Oh, and I also don't own the line Jak speaks...it's from an anime movie called 'Samurai X'.

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**Golden Sunrise****  
By: StriderX  
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With a tear stinging his dull cerulean eyes, Jak gazed at the carnage around him. Pain...Pain and death was all that could be seen.

Yes, the majority of the dead were Metal Heads, but they were still living beings...still part of him. Dark eco surged through their blood, same as it did through his. He looked at his hands; bloodied from the fight and callused by the weight of his gun. _'These hands...they've killed so much...'_ he thought with despairing eyes searching for the answer to a question not asked.

"You're not a murderer, Jak." a calm female voice said beside him--reading his thoughts before he could speak. Ashelin had seen the war; she had fought in it right alongside Jak. But she didn't know how he felt...there was no way she could.

"Beating yourself up over something that wasn't your fault isn't going to change what had to be done. If we hadn't of killed them, they would have killed us." Jak had never heard Ashelin's voice sound so comforting. It was almost as if she _cared_. No...she couldn't...could she?

Jak was silent, and not giving Ashelin much room to comfort him. Truth was, he didn't _want_ to be comforted. He just wanted to be left alone. So much death--he knew it had to be done, but that didn't make it any easier. Even if they were heartless monsters...their heart's still beat the same as his. Two hearts in one. That of a living being just begging to live, and that of a dying monster never meant to see the light of day.

Ashelin sighed at Jak's stubborn silence and gently placed a comforting hand on his shoulder; causing him to flinch slightly at her touch. "Jak," she spoke softly; lifting a careful hand to his cheek. "Look at me."

Weary from the all-night battle, Jak didn't resist her touch and turned his head to face her. She was so beautiful; he thought. Her short, crimson hair done into neat dreads; her perfect fighting figure; her stunning deep green eyes. He always found it funny that someone like her--someone so gorgeous--could really be the leader of the known world's largest army. Still, something in her fit the roll quite well.

Was it the blood smeared over her cheek or the gun in her hand? No, it was more her spirit then anything. She had a true fighting spirit. That Jak could especially tell, for he once had the same spirit flowing through his own veins. Not any more though. No, now he felt like nothing more then a mere shell.

An empty existence waiting for his next worthless task.

Ashelin could see the pain in his eyes as she gazed almost directly through them. What was once bright and joyous was now lost and broken. Even her tough heart broke at the sight of him. "No matter how it may seem different, you saved more lives today then could ever be imagined."

Jak wanted to say something in return, but all words were lost from him. All he could feel was the desperation seeping deeper and deeper through him. Not even the thought of his best friend, Daxter, doing something stupid could bring light to his eco-covered heart.

The dark of night was almost done--the sun was beginning to rise slowly now.

Jack could remember being taught as a child that when blood was spilt during the night, the sun would rise a bloody red that day in mourning for their loss. But that day, things proved different. Despite the gruesome battle raged between man and monster over the previous night, the morning sun rose gold...victorious. In fact, it was the most beautiful dawn he had ever seen.

Turning from each other, the two slid their gazes to the deep azure sky high above the battlefield. Far beyond the dark clouds of a finished rain, streaks of gold and red, lavender and emerald, shot across the star-specked sky. "Beautiful..." Ashelin breathed in a weary sigh.

With a solemn tone, Jak penetrated through the rusty voice of a mercenary he had grown so accustomed to and discovered the content, soothing one lost inside him for so long. Like a cool summer rain on a hot day, Jak spoke. "Maybe the distant part of the sky is always the clearest because we are constantly striving to reach it..."

Not another word was spoken between the two as they let their minds fly from the carnage below and into the serene peace above. Each somehow knowing that everything would be alright.

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**A/N2: **A big thankx to everyone for reading:) Later!  



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